Vacuum processing apparatus and semiconductor manufacturing line using the same

ABSTRACT

A vacuum processing apparatus is composed of a cassette block and a vacuum processing block. The cassette block has a cassette table for mounting a plurality of cassettes containing a sample and an atmospheric transfer means. The vacuum processing block has a plurality of processing chambers for performing vacuum processing to the sample and a vacuum transfer means for transferring the sample. Both of the plan views of the cassette block and the vacuum processing block are nearly rectangular, and the width of the cassette block is designed larger than the width of the vacuum processing block, and the plan view of the vacuum processing apparatus is formed in an L-shape or a T-shape.

This is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 10/826,386, filed Apr.19, 2004 now abandoned, which is a divisional application of U.S. Ser.No. 09/956,135, filed Sep. 20, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,579, whichis copending with U.S. Ser. No. 09/956,136, filed Sep. 20, 2001, whichis copending with U.S. Ser. No. 09/956,140, filed Sep. 20, 2001, whichis copending with U.S. Ser. No. 09/956,137, filed Sep. 20, 2001, whichis copending with U.S. Ser. No. 09/982,957, filed Oct. 22, 2001, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,705,828, which is copending with U.S. Ser. No.10/085,008, filed Mar. 1, 2002, now abandoned, which is copending withU.S. Ser. No. 10/084,934, filed Mar. 1, 2002, now abandoned, which iscopending with U.S. Ser. No. 10/085,007, filed Mar. 1, 2002, nowabandoned, which is copending with U.S. Ser. No. 10/689,035, filed Oct.21, 2003; U.S. Ser. No. 09/956,135 is also a divisional application ofU.S. Ser. No. 09/769,507, filed Jan. 26, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.6,526,330, which is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No.09/730,578, filed Dec. 7, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,430,469, which is adivisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/704,614, filed Nov. 3, 2000,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,819, which is a divisional application of U.S.Ser. No. 09/487,499, filed Jan. 19, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,504,which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 09/182,218, filed Oct. 30, 1998,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,117, which is a divisional application of U.S.Ser. No. 09/158,521, filed Sep. 22, 1998, now abandoned, which is adivisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/151,795, filed Sep. 22, 1998,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,935, which is a divisional application of U.S.Ser. No. 08/677,682, filed Jul. 8, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,726.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus; and moreparticularly, the invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatuswhich is suitable for performing treatment, such as etching, chemicalvapor deposition (CVD), spattering, ashing, rinsing or the like, on asample of a semiconductor substrate, such as a Si substrate, and to asemiconductor manufacturing line for manufacturing semiconductor devicesusing the vacuum processing apparatus.

Basically, a vacuum processing apparatus is composed of a cassette blockand a vacuum processing block. The cassette block has a front facing thebay path of the semiconductor manufacturing line and extending towardthe longitudinal direction of the semiconductor manufacturing line, analignment unit for aligning the orientation of a cassette for a sampleor the orientation of a sample, and a robot operating under anatmospheric pressure environment. The vacuum block has a load lockchamber in the loading side, a load lock chamber in the unloading side,a processing chamber, a post treating chamber, a vacuum pump and a robotoperating under a vacuum environment.

In the vacuum processing apparatus, a sample extracted from the cassettein the cassette block is transferred to the load lock chamber of thevacuum processing block by the atmospheric transfer robot. The sample isfurther transferred to the processing chamber from the load lock chamberby the atmospheric transfer robot and is set on an electrode structurebody to be subjected to processing, such as plasma treatment. Then, thesample is transferred to the post treating chamber to be processed, ifnecessary. The sample having been processed is transferred to thecassette in the cassette block by the vacuum transfer robot and theatmospheric transfer robot.

Vacuum processing apparatuses for performing plasma etching on a sampleare disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-8153,Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 63-133532, Japanese PatentPublication No. 6-30369, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.6-314729, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-314730, and U.S.Pat. No. 5,314,509.

In the above-referenced conventional vacuum processing apparatuses, theprocessing chambers and the load lock chambers are concentricallyarranged or arranged in rectangular shape. For example, in the apparatusdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,509, a vacuum transfer robot isarranged near the center of the vacuum processing block with threeprocessing chambers being concentrically arranged around the vacuumtransfer robot, and a load lock chamber in the loading side and a loadlock chamber in the unload side are provided between the vacuum transferrobot and the cassette block. In these apparatuses, there is a problemin that the required installation area of the whole apparatus is largesince the rotating angles of the transfer arms of the atmospherictransfer robot and the vacuum transfer robot are large.

On the other hand, the processing chamber in the vacuum processing blockand the vacuum pump and other various kinds of piping components of thevacuum processing apparatus require maintenance, such as scheduled andunscheduled inspection or repairing. Therefore, in general, there areprovided doors around the vacuum processing block so that inspection andrepairing of the load lock chamber, the un-load lock chamber, theprocessing chamber, the vacuum transfer robot and the various kinds ofpiping components can be performed by opening the doors.

In the conventional vacuum processing apparatus, there is a problem inthat the installation area is large even though the sample to be handledhas a diameter d smaller than 8 inches (nearly 200 mm) and the outersize of the cassette C_(w), is nearly 250 mm. Further, in the case ofhandling a large diameter sample having a diameter d above 12 inches(nearly 300 mm), the size of the cassette C_(w), becomes nearly 350 mm.Accordingly, the width of the cassette block containing a plurality ofcassettes becomes large. If the width of the vacuum processing block isdetermined based on the width of the cassette block, the whole vacuumprocessing apparatus requires a large installation area. Considering acassette block containing four cassettes as an example, the width of thecassette block cannot help but increase at least by nearly 40 cm whenthe diameter d of a sample increases from 8 inches to 12 inches.

On the other hand, in a general semiconductor manufacturing line, inorder to process a large amount of samples and employ various kinds ofprocesses, a plurality of vacuum processing apparatuses performing thesame processing are gathered in a bay, and transmission of samplesbetween bays is performed automatically or manually. Since such asemiconductor manufacturing line requires a high cleanness, the wholesemiconductor manufacturing line is installed in a large clean room. Anincrease in the size of a vacuum processing apparatus due to an increasein diameter of a sample to be processed results in an increase in therequired installation area of the clean room, which further increasesthe construction cost of the clean room, which by its nature already hasa high construction cost. If vacuum processing apparatuses requiring alarger installation area are installed in a clean room having the samearea, a reduction in the total number of the vacuum processingapparatuses or a decrease in the spacing between the vacuum processingapparatuses becomes inevitable. A reduction in the total number of thevacuum processing apparatuses in the clean room having the same areadecreases the productivity of the semiconductor manufacturing line andincreases the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor devices as aninevitable consequence. On the other hand, a decrease in the spacingbetween the vacuum processing apparatuses decreases the maintainabilityof the vacuum processing apparatus due to lack of maintenance space forinspection and repair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum processingapparatus which is capable of coping with larger diameter samples whilekeeping the manufacturing cost to a minimum.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuumprocessing apparatus which is capable of coping with larger diametersamples and at the same time having a better maintainability.

A further object of the present invention is to provide semiconductormanufacturing line which is capable of coping with larger diametersamples while keeping manufacturing cost to a minimum by keeping thenecessary number of vacuum processing apparatuses, through moreeconomical use of space and at the same time not decreasing themaintainability.

In order to attain the above objects, the present invention provides avacuum processing apparatus composed of a cassette block and a vacuumprocessing block, and the cassette block has a cassette table formounting a cassette containing a sample, and the vacuum processing blockhas a processing chamber for treating the sample and a vacuum transfermeans for transferring the sample. In the vacuum processing apparatus,both of the plan views of the cassette block and the vacuum processingblock are nearly rectangular and the relation W₁−W₂≧C_(W) is satisfied,where W₁ is the width of the cassette block, W₂ is the width of thevacuum processing block, and C_(W) is the width of one cassette.

Another characteristic of the present invention is that the width of thecassette block is designed to be larger than the width of the vacuumprocessing block, and the plan view of the vacuum processing apparatusis formed in an L-shape or a T-shape.

A further characteristic of the present invention is that asemiconductor manufacturing line comprising a plurality of bay areashaving a plurality of vacuum processing apparatuses composed of acassette block and a vacuum processing block are arranged in the orderof the manufacturing process, and the cassette block has a cassettetable for mounting a cassette containing a sample, and the vacuumprocessing block has a process chamber for performing vacuum processingon the sample and a vacuum transfer means for transferring the sample.In the semiconductor manufacturing line, at least one of the vacuumprocessing apparatuses is designed so that the cassette block is capableof containing a sample having a diameter not less than 300 mm, and therelation W₁−W₂≧C_(W) is satisfied, where W₁ is the width of the cassetteblock, W₂ is the width of the vacuum processing block, and C_(W) is thewidth of one cassette.

A still further characteristic of the present invention is that a methodof constructing a semiconductor manufacturing line which comprises aplurality of vacuum processing apparatuses composed of a cassette blockcapable of containing a sample having a diameter not less than 300 mm,and a vacuum processing block for performing vacuum processing on saidsample. In the method of constructing a semiconductor manufacturingline, at least one of the vacuum processing apparatuses is designed sothat the width of the cassette block is larger than the width of thevacuum processing block; the plane view of the vacuum processingapparatus is formed in an L-shape or a T-shape; and a maintenance spaceis provided between the L-shaped or the T-shaped vacuum processingapparatuses and the adjacent vacuum processing apparatus.

According to the present invention, the plan view shapes of the cassetteblock and the vacuum processing block are rectangular, and the cassetteblock and the vacuum processing block are designed so that the relationW₁>W₂ is satisfied, where W₁ is the width of the cassette block and W₂is the width of the vacuum processing block. Thereby, the plan view ofthe whole of the vacuum processing apparatus becomes L-shaped orT-shaped. In a case of arranging many such vacuum processingapparatuses, a sufficient space can be provided between the vacuumprocessing blocks positioned adjacent to each other, even if theinterval between the vacuum processing blocks is made small. Forexample, when W₁ is 1.5 m and W₂ is 0.8 m, a maintenance space of 0.7 mcan be provided between the vacuum processing apparatuses locatedadjacent to each other.

Therefore, in spite of a larger diameter sample, the number of vacuumprocessing apparatuses installed in a clean room, having the same areaas a conventional clean room, does not need to be reduced. Accordingly,the productivity of the semiconductor manufacturing line does notdecrease. Thus, it is possible to provide a vacuum processing apparatuswhich can cope with a larger diameter sample and, at the same time, cansuppress any increase in the manufacturing cost, and has bettermaintainability.

Further, by employing the vacuum processing apparatus according to thepresent invention in a semiconductor manufacturing line, it is possibleto provide a semiconductor manufacturing line which can cope with alarger diameter sample while keeping manufacturing cost to a minimum bykeeping the necessary number of vacuum processing apparatuses, throughmore economical use of space and, at the same time, without decreasingthe maintainability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vacuumprocessing apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the main portion ofthe apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section of the vacuum processing apparatus being taken onthe plane of the line III-III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the apparatus being taken onthe plane of the line IV-IV of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a bay area of a semiconductormanufacturing line having a vacuum processing apparatus in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a top plan view showing a part of a sample flow in asemiconductor manufacturing line, and FIG. 6B is a detail view of thearea 6B in FIG. 6A, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the relationship between the sizeof a vacuum processing block and the size of a cassette block.

FIG. 8 is a top plane view for explaining how maintenance of a vacuumblock of a vacuum processing apparatus is carried out in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the construction of an example of aconventional vacuum processing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an example of the relative relationshipof various kinds of elements inside a vacuum processing apparatus inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing another embodiment of a vacuum processingapparatus in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the vacuum processing apparatus ofFIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing another embodiment of a vacuum processingapparatus in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing another embodiment of a vacuum processingapparatus in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing another embodiment of a vacuum processingapparatus in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing another arrangement of a bay area inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing another arrangement of a bay area inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a semiconductor manufacturing line inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a semiconductor manufacturing line inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing a semiconductor manufacturing line inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a plan view showing another embodiment of a vacuum processingapparatus in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a plan view showing another embodiment of a vacuum processingapparatus in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of a vacuum processing apparatus in accordance with thepresent invention will be described in detail below, referring to FIG. 1to FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 1, each of a pair of vacuum processingapparatuses 100 is composed of a rectangular block shaped cassette block1 and a rectangular block shaped vacuum processing block 2. Each of theplan shapes of the cassette block 1 and the vacuum processing block 2 isrectangular, and the whole plan shape formed by both is L-shaped. Thecassette block 1 faces a bay path of a semiconductor manufacturing lineand extends in the lateral direction of the bay path, and in the frontside of the cassette block there are a cassette table 16 for receivingand transferring a cassette 12 containing a sample from and to the baypath and an operation panel 14. The vacuum processing block 2 installedin the back side of the cassette block 1 extends in the directionperpendicular to the cassette block 1 and contains various kinds ofdevices for performing vacuum processing, as well as a transfer device.

As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, in the cassette block 1 there are providedan atmospheric robot 9 for transferring a sample and cassettes 12 forholding a sample. The sample cassettes 12 are product sample cassettes12A, 12B, 12C and a dummy sample cassette 12D. An orientation adjusterfor the sample may be provided near the cassettes 12, if necessary. Acassette 12 contains only product samples or product and dummy samples.Samples for checking for a foreign substance and/or for cleaning arecontained in the uppermost stage and/or the lowermost stage of thecassette.

In the vacuum processing block 2, there are provided a load side loadlock chamber 4, an unload side load lock chamber 5, a processing chamber6, a post treating chamber 7, a vacuum pump 8 and a vacuum transferrobot 10. The reference character 13 denotes a discharging means foretching, and the reference character 14 denotes a discharging means forpost treatment (ashing).

The atmospheric transfer robot 9 is movably installed on a rail 92placed parallel to the cassette table 16 inside the cassette block 1 andoperates to transfer a sample 3 from a cassette 12 to the load lockchamber 4 on the load side and from the load lock chamber 5 on theunload side. The vacuum transfer robot transfers the sample 3 from theload lock 4 on the load side to the processing chamber 6 and alsotransfers the sample 3 to and from the processing chamber 6, the loadlock chamber 5 on the unload side and the post treating chamber 7. Thepresent invention is based on handling of a larger diameter samplehaving a diameter d above 12 inches (nearly 300 mm). When the diameterof the sample is 12 inches, the outer size C_(w) of the cassette isnearly 350 mm to 360 mm.

The processing chamber 6 processes the samples 3 one-by-one, and is, forexample, a chamber for performing plasma etching disposed in the upperleft of the vacuum processing block 2. The load lock chamber 4 on theload side and the load lock chamber 5 on the unload side are located onthe opposite side of the vacuum transfer robot 10 from the processingchamber 6, that is, they both are placed in the lower position of thevacuum processing block 2. The post treating chamber 7 is a chamber forpost treating processed samples 3 one-by-one, and located in the middleposition of the vacuum processing block 2 facing the load lock chamber 5on the unload side.

The atmospheric transfer robot 9 has an extensible arm 91 which is sodesigned that the locus of the extensible arm extending and contractingwhile the robot is moving on the rail 92 includes a locus containing acassette 12 in the load lock chamber 4 on the load side and the loadlock chamber 5 on the unload side. The vacuum transfer robot 10 has anextensible arm 101 which is so designed that the rotating locus of theextensible arm includes a locus containing the load lock chamber 4 onthe load side and the processing chamber 6 in the vacuum processingblock 2. Therefore, the extensible arm 101 of the vacuum transfer robot10 is so installed that the rotating locus contains the processingchamber 6, the load lock chamber 5 on the unload side and the posttreating chamber 7. The installed position of the atmospheric transferrobot 9 may be in the right side position on the cassette block 1.

A wafer search mechanism is provided around each of the cassettes 12 torecognize the samples in each of the cassettes when a cassette 12 isset. In the load lock chambers 4, 5 and the processing chamber 6 and thepost treating chamber 7, there are provided sample lifting mechanisms14A, 14B, respectively, so that a sample 3 can be transferred to theextensible arm 91 or 101 of each of the robots. Further, in theprocessing chamber 6, there are provided an electrode of an etchingdischarge means 13 and a sample mounting table 14C. Inside the etchingdischarge means 13, there is provided a sample lifting mechanism 14B.The reference character 15 is a ring-shaped gate valve.

An operation for processing a sample inside the processing chamber 100will be described below, taking plasma etching as an example. Initially,the atmospheric transfer robot 9 in the cassette block 1 is moved on therail 92 to approach, for example, the cassette 12A on the load side, anda fork (not shown) is inserted under a sample 3 inside the cassette byextending the extensible arm 91 toward the cassette 12A to mount thesample 3 on the fork. After that, the arm 91 of the atmospheric transferrobot 9 is moved to the load lock chamber 4 while the cover of the loadlock chamber 4 is kept open to transfer the sample 3 therein. At thistime, the atmospheric transfer robot 9 is moved on the rail 92 in such amanner that the stroke of the extensible arm 91 may easily reach theload lock chamber 4, if necessary.

Then, the sample lifting mechanism 14A is operated to support the sample3 on a support member thereof in the load lock chamber 4. Further, afterevacuating the load lock chamber 4 to a vacuum, the support member islowered by operating the sample lifting mechanism 14A again to transferthe sample to the arm 101 of the vacuum transfer robot 10 and transferthe sample along a transfer path into the processing chamber 6 in thevacuum environment. By a reverse operation, the sample is transferred toa cassette position on the unload side in the cassette block 1.

In a case requiring post treatment, the sample is transferred to thepost treating chamber 7 using the arm 101 of the vacuum transfer robot.In the post treating chamber 7, a sample having been subjected toetching processing is subjected to plasma post treatment, such asashing.

In FIG. 3, the locus of the arm 101 of the vacuum transfer robot is asfollows, taking a case where samples 3 are in the load lock chamber 4,the processing chamber 6 and the post treating chamber 7 and no sampleis in the load lock chamber 5. The arm 101 of the vacuum transfer robot10 initially transfers the one sample 3 in the post treating chamber 7to the load lock chamber 5, and then the sample 3 in the processingchamber 6 is transferred to the post treating chamber 7. Next, thesample 3 in the load lock chamber 4 is transferred to the vacuum chamber6. After treatment, the sample 3 in the treating chamber 6 istransferred to the post treating chamber 7. The arm 101 repeats a traceof the same locus.

Since the vacuum transfer robot is placed near the side of the vacuumprocessing block 2, a worker can inspect and repair the vacuum transferrobot with ease, and accordingly maintenance can be easily performed.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a bay area 200 of asemiconductor manufacturing line made up of a plurality of vacuumprocessing apparatuses 100 in accordance with the present invention. Inthe figure, many L-shaped vacuum processing apparatuses 100 are arrangedin spaced relationship with a gap G1 within a maintenance space 203, anda partition 120 divides the room into a high clean level room 201A andlow clean level rooms 201B. An automatic transfer machine 202 forsupplying and transferring samples 3 is installed along the frontsurface of the cassette blocks 1 down the center of the high clean levelroom 201A. On the other hand, many vacuum processing blocks 2 arearranged in the low clean level room 201B, and the interval G2 betweenthem represents a maintenance space to be described later.

FIG. 6A is a view showing a part of the flow of a sample 3 in anembodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing line in accordance with thepresent invention. At the entrance portion of each of the bay areas 200,there are provided an inspection apparatus 206 and a bay stoker 208. Theback portion of each of the bay areas 200 communicates with amaintenance path 210, and there is provided an air shower 212 in theentrance of the maintenance path 210. The sample 3 supplied to the baystoker 208 from the outside is successively transferred to an in-bayautomatic transfer machine 202 in a certain bay area 200 correspondingto the manufacturing process using a line automatic transfer machine204, as shown by arrows. Further, the sample 3 is transferred from thein-bay automatic transfer machine 202 to the cassette block of thevacuum processing apparatus 100. In the vacuum processing apparatus 100,as seen in FIG. 6B, the sample 3 is transferred between the cassetteblock 1 and the vacuum processing block 2 by the atmospheric transferrobot 9 and the vacuum transfer robot 10. The sample 3 having beenprocessed in the vacuum processing block 2 is transferred to the in-bayautomatic transfer machine 202, and further is transferred to the lineautomatic transfer machine 204, and then is transferred to the next bayarea 200.

In a semiconductor manufacturing line having an in-bay automatictransfer machine, the in-bay automatic transfer machine 202 supplies anew sample (unprocessed wafer) to the cassette block 1 in each of thevacuum processing apparatuses 100 from the bay stoker 208 provided ineach of the bays 200, and recovers a cassette containing a processedsample from the cassette block 1.

In response to a demand signal output from each of the vacuum processingapparatuses 100, the in-bay automatic transfer machine 202 receives acassette containing a new sample (unprocessed wafer) from the bay stoker208 provided in each of the bays 200, and runs up to and stops at acassette position where the cassette block 1 of the vacuum processingapparatus outputs the demand signal.

As a cassette handling robot installed in the in-bay automatic transfermachine 202, a robot having a three-axis control function including arotating operation (θ-axis), vertical movement (Z-axis) and gripoperation (φ-axis), or a four-axis control function including a rotatingoperation (θ-axis), vertical movement (Z-axis), grip operation (φ-axis)and back-and-forth movement (Y-axis) is used.

In a case where a processed cassette 12 has existed at designatedposition in the cassette block 1, according to the required contentoutput from each of the vacuum processing apparatuses 100, the cassettehandling robot recovers the cassette 12 from the cassette block 1 andtransfers it to an empty cassette store on the in-bay automatic transfermachine 202, and then supplies a new cassette 12 transferred from thebay stoker 208 to the empty position left by the recovering operation.

After completion of this operation, the in-bay automatic transfermachine transfers the recovered cassette 12 to the bay stoker 208, andstops its operation and stands by until the next demand signal is outputfrom a vacuum processing apparatus 100 in the bay 200.

When demand signals are output from plural vacuum processing apparatuses100, 100, . . . in the bay 200 within a short time, it depends on thesystem design whether the in-bay automatic transfer machine transferssamples according to the time sequence of the received signals, or in anorder to achieve a higher transfer efficiency from the stand-by positionof the in-bay automatic transfer machine 202 taking account of therelationship between the time difference in to demand signals and thepositions of signal output apparatuses.

Cassette management is performed in such a manner that information on areceived and sent cassette includes a number specified for each of thecassettes and various kinds of information used in managing the totalmanufacturing line, and this information is transmitted between thevacuum processing apparatus 100 and the in-bay automatic transfermachine 202 via, for example, an optical communication system.

The processing flow in the bay area 200 will be described below, takinga sample in each cassette into consideration.

In the cassette block 1, three to four cassettes are placed side by sideon a plane in the same level. In each of the cassettes, a given numberof samples, in this case, semiconductor element substrates (wafers)having a diameter of 300 mm (12″) are contained.

In the two to three cassettes 12 among the three to four cassettes,samples to be subjected to certain vacuum processing in the vacuumprocessing portion (unprocessed wafers) are contained. In the remainingone cassette 12D, dummy wafers are contained.

The dummy wafer is used for checking for the number of foreign particlesin the vacuum processing portion and/or for a cleaning process of theprocessing chamber composing the vacuum processing zone.

Here, the cassettes 12 containing samples before processing will beidentified as 12A, 12B, 12C. In such a state, the state of the samplesof, for example, the cassette 12A is checked by a wafer check means (notshown). In this case, the cassette 12A has a function to store samplesin a vertical direction one-by-one.

As the wafer check means used, there is an arrangement where a sensor issuccessively moved so as to correspond to the position of successivesample containing stages of the cassette 12A, and another arrangementwhere plural sensors are provided corresponding to respective samplecontaining stages of the cassette 12A. In the latter arrangement, thereis no need to provide a means for moving a sensor to sample containingstages of the cassette 12A. On the other hand, it may be possible to fixthe sensor for the wafer check means and move the cassette 12A instead.

Using the wafer check means, it is determined in which positions in thevertical direction of the cassette 12A the unprocessed samples arecontained. For example, in a case where the wafer check means is thetype in which a sensor is successively moved so as to correspond to theposition of successive sample containing stages of the cassette 12A, thesensor detects a sample containing stage of the cassette 12A and thepresence or absence of a unprocessed sample in the stage while thesensor is moving, for example, upward from the lower position of thecassette 12A, or downward from the upper position of the cassette 12A.

The check results are output from the wafer check means to be input toand stored in, for example, a host computer (not shown in the figure) ofthe semiconductor manufacturing line controller for managing all of thevacuum processing apparatuses. Otherwise, the check results may be inputto and stored in a personal computer in a console box on the cassettemounting table or a host computer for controlling the apparatusesthrough the personal computer.

Then, in this embodiment, the atmospheric transfer robot 9 is started tooperate. By operation of the atmospheric transfer robot 9, one of theunprocessed samples in the cassette 12A is extracted out of the cassette12A.

The atmospheric transfer robot 9 has a scooping-up device for scoopingup and holding the surface of a sample opposite (reverse) to the surfaceto be processed. The scooping-up devices used are a device which adheresto and holds the reverse side surface of the sample, a device havinggrooves or indented portions for holding the sample, and a devicemechanically gripping the peripheral portion of the sample. Further, asfor a device adhering to and holding the reverse side surface of thesample, there are devices operating with the use of vacuum suckingadhesion and electrostatic attraction.

In a case of using for device adhering to and holding the reverse sidesurface of the sample having a diameter of 300 mm (12″), it is importantto select the arrangement and the dimension of the adhering portion soas to minimize bending of the sample as much as possible. For example,the interval between the adhering portions is set to d/3 to d/2 takingthe center of the sample 3 as the center, where d is the diameter of thesample 3.

Depending on the amount of bending and the type of bending of thesample, displacement of the sample occurs when the sample is transferredbetween the scooping-up device and another transfer means, whichsometimes causes an undesirable displacement of the orientation of thesample.

Further, in a case of using a device for adhering to and holding thereverse side surface of the sample, the adhering force is required tohave a sufficient strength that the sample is not detached by theinertia force acting on the sample when the sample is being transferred,including the high forces encountered during starting and stopping. Ifthis condition is not satisfied, the sample may fall from thescooping-up device or a displacement of the orientation of the sample islikely to occur.

The scooping-up device is inserted in a position corresponding to thereverse surface of an unprocessed sample required to be extracted in thecassette 12A. In a state there the scooping-up device is inserted, thecassette 12A is lowered by a given amount or the scooping-up device islifted by a given amount. By lowering the cassette 12A or lifting thescooping-up device, the unprocessed sample is transferred to thescooping-up device while the sample is kept in a scooped state. Thescooping-up device then extracts the sample out of the cassette 12A.Thus, one of the unprocessed samples in the cassette 12A is extractedout of the cassette 12A.

As described above, for example, the host computer instructs andcontrols the atmospheric transfer robot 9 as to which unprocessed samplein the cassette 12A is to be extracted.

The information from which stage in the cassette 12A the unprocessedsample is extracted is successively stored in the host computer forevery extraction of a sample.

The atmospheric transfer robot 9, having one unprocessed sample in thescooping-up device, is moved to and stopped at a position where thesample can be loaded into the load lock chamber 4.

The load lock chamber 4 is isolated from a vacuum environment of thevacuum processing portion 2 and is in an atmospheric pressure state. Theunprocessed sample held by the scooping-up device of the atmospherictransfer robot 9 is loaded into the load lock chamber 4 in such a stateso as to be transferred to the load lock chamber 4 from the scooping-updevice.

The atmospheric transfer robot 9 having transferred the unprocessedsample into the load lock chamber 4 is returned to a predeterminedposition for standing by until the next operation.

The operation described above is instructed and controlled by, forexample, the host computer.

The information as to which stage in the cassette 12A an unprocessedsample loaded in the load lock chamber 4 is extracted from issuccessively stored in the host computer for every extraction of asample.

The load lock chamber 4 having received an unprocessed sample isisolated from atmosphere and evacuated to vacuum. Then, the isolationfrom the processing chamber is released and the load lock chamber 4 iscommunicated with the processing chamber so as to be capable oftransferring the unprocessed sample. Then, a predetermined vacuumprocessing is performed in the vacuum processing zone.

The sample having been subjected to vacuum processing (sample afterprocessed) is transferred from the vacuum processing zone to the unloadlock chamber 5 by a vacuum transfer robot so as to be loaded into theunload lock chamber 5.

The vacuum transfer robot has a scooping-up device similar to that inthe atmospheric transfer robot 9. As the scooping-up device, scoopingdevices similar to those of the atmospheric transfer robot 9 may beused, except for the device having a function of vacuum adhesion.

After loading the processed sample, the unload lock chamber 5 isisolated from the vacuum processing portion 2 and the pressure insidethe unload lock chamber 5 is adjusted to atmospheric pressure.

The unload lock chamber 5 in which the inner pressure becomesatmospheric pressure is opened to atmosphere. Under such a state, thescooping-up device of the atmospheric transfer robot 9 is inserted intothe unload lock-chamber 5, and the processed sample is transferred tothe scooping-up device.

The scooping-up device having received the processed sample transfersthe sample out of the unload lock chamber 5. After that, the unload lockchamber 5 is isolated from atmosphere and evacuated to a vacuum so as tobe prepared for loading of the next processed sample.

On the other hand, the atmospheric transfer robot 9 having the processedsample in the scooping-up device is moved to and stopped at a positionwhere the processed sample can be returned to the cassette 12A.

Then, the scooping-up device having the processed sample is insertedinto the cassette 12A. The host computer controls the inserting positionso that the processed sample is returned to the position where theprocessed sample had been originally located.

After inserting the scooping-up device having the processed sample, thecassette 12A is lifted or the scooping-up device is lowered.

By doing so, the processed sample is returned to and contained in theposition where the processed sample had been originally located.

Such an operation is similarly performed for the remaining unprocessedsamples in the cassette 12A and also for the unprocessed samples in thecassettes 12B, 12C.

That is, an unprocessed sample successively extracted from each of thecassettes one by one is, for example, numbered. The host computer, forexample, stores information indicating that an unprocessed sampleextracted from which stage in which cassette has what number.

Based on the information, movement of a sample, extraction of the samplefrom a cassette, vacuum processing of the sample and returning thesample to the cassette after vacuum processing, is managed andcontrolled.

In other words, the movement of a sample from the time it is extractedto the time it is returned to the original cassette, is performedaccording to the following steps in the following order.

(1) checking the sample position in a cassette.

(2) extracting of a sample in the cassette using an atmospheric transferrobot.

(3) loading the sample into a load lock chamber using an atmospherictransfer robot.

(4) transferring the sample from load lock chamber to a vacuumprocessing zone using a vacuum transfer robot.

(5) performing vacuum processing in the vacuum processing zone.

(6) transferring the sample from the vacuum processing zone to an unloadlock chamber using the vacuum transfer robot.

(7) unloading the sample from the unload lock chamber using theatmospheric transfer robot.

(8) returning the sample into the original position in the cassetteusing the atmospheric transfer robot.

In every movement of the sample from steps (1) to (8) as describedabove, the host computer successively updates the information on whatdesignated number sample each of the stations has. The updatingprocessing is performed for every one of the samples. By doing so, eachof the samples is managed, that is, it is known what designated numbersample exists in which station.

For example, the successive updating state process by the host computermay be successively displayed on a vacuum processing system control CRTscreen. In this case, each of the stations and what designated numbersample exists at present at each station are displayed, so thisinformation is easily recognized by an operator.

In a case where orientation adjustment of an unprocessed sample isperformed, this step is performed between the above steps (2) and (3).

Such management and control for movement of samples may be performed ina case where the vacuum processing portion 2 has a plurality of vacuumprocessing zones.

Assuming that the vacuum processing portion 2 has, for example, twovacuum processing zones. In this case, the sample is processed in seriesor processed in parallel depending on the processing information. Here,series processing refers to a sample being vacuum processed in onevacuum processing zone and the processed sample being successivelyvacuum-processed in the remaining vacuum processing zone. On the otherhand, parallel processing refers to a sample being vacuum-processed inone vacuum processing zone and another sample being vacuum-processed inthe remaining vacuum processing zone.

In a case of series processing, a sample numbered by the host computeris processed according to a determined order and the processed sample isreturned to the original position in the cassette.

In a case of parallel processing, since the host computer manages andcontrols in what vacuum processing zone and how a numbered sample isprocessed, the processed sample is returned to the original position inthe cassette.

In a case of parallel processing, the host computer may manage andcontrol which vacuum processing zone is used depending on which stage inthe cassette the sample is extracted from and what designated number thesample has.

In a case where series processing and parallel processing are mixed,since the host computer manages and controls in what vacuum processingzone and how a numbered sample is processed, the processed sample isreturned to the original position in the cassette.

Examples of the plural vacuum processing zones are a combination ofzones having the same plasma generating method, a combination ofdifferent plasma etching zones, a combination of a plasma etching zoneand a post-processing zone such as ashing, a combination of an etchingzone and a film forming zone and so on.

The dummy sample in a cassette is handled in the same manner as for anunprocessed sample except for performing vacuum processing, which isperformed on the unprocessed sample.

A detecting means for detecting presence or absence of a sample isprovided in each cassette, in the scooping-up device of the atmospherictransfer robot, in the orientation adjusting station, in the station inthe load lock chamber, in the scooping-up device of the vacuum transferrobot, in the station in the vacuum processing zone, and in the stationin the unload lock chamber.

A contact type or a non-contact type sensor is properly selected to beused as the sample detecting means.

The cassette, the scooping-up device and each of the stations becomechecking points for the movement of the sample.

In such a construction, for example, when the presence of a sample isdetected in the scooping-up device of the vacuum transfer robot 10 andthe presence of a sample is not detected in the station in the vacuumprocessing zone, this means that a problem has occurred in the sampletransfer machine between the scooping-up device of the vacuum transferrobot and the station in the vacuum processing zone due to some cause,and so recovering from the trouble can be properly and speedilypreformed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the through-put of thewhole system from being degraded.

In a construction where the sample detecting means is not provided ineach of the scooping-up devices of the transfer robots 9, for example,when the presence of a sample is detected in the station in the loadlock chamber and the presence of a sample is not detected in the stationin the vacuum processing zone, this means that a problem has occurred inthe sample transfer machine between the station in the load lock chamberand the scooping-up device of the vacuum transfer robot, or in thevacuum transfer robot, or in the sample transfer machine between thescooping-up device of the vacuum transfer robot and the station in thevacuum processing zone due to some cause, and so recovering from thetrouble can be properly and speedily preformed. Therefore, it ispossible to prevent the through-put of the whole system from beingdegraded.

Such an embodiment has the following usefulness.

(1) Since the stage in the cassette in which an unprocessed sample iscontained is checked and movement of the checked unprocessed sample issuccessively monitored and controlled by numbering the unprocessedsample, the processed sample can be certainly returned to the originalposition of the cassette.

(2) Since the stage in the cassette in which an unprocessed sample iscontained is checked and movement of the checked unprocessed sample issuccessively monitored and controlled by numbering the unprocessedsample even in a case of series processing, parallel processing or acombination thereof, the processed sample can be certainly returned tothe original position of the cassette.

(3) Since the stage in the cassette in which an unprocessed sample iscontained is checked and movement of the checked unprocessed sample issuccessively monitored and controlled by numbering the unprocessedsample, the processing state of the samples processed in the vacuumprocessing portion one by one can be properly checked and managed indetail.

For example, in a case where a defect occurs in the processing of asample, since a processing state for each of the samples including theprocessing condition is managed, the processing state can be identifiedby the information as to which stage in what cassette the defectivesample is contained in. Therefore, the cause of the defect can be knownin a short time and accordingly the time required for a countermeasurecan be shortened by the time served in identification of the processingstate.

Although the description in the above embodiment is based on a samplehaving a diameter of 300 mm (12″), the usefulness of the invention isnot limited to the diameter of the sample.

The maintenance of the equipment will be described below.

As for maintenance of the vacuum processing apparatus 100 in accordancewith the present invention, most of the maintenance of the cassetteblock 1 can be performed from the front side of the cassette block sincethe cassette block 1 faces the line of the in-bay automatic transfermachine 202.

On the other hand, for maintenance of the vacuum processing block 2, anoperator is required to enter the area of the vacuum processing block 2from the back side of each bay area through the maintenance path 203 orthrough the maintenance path 210.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the relationship between the size of the vacuumprocessing block 2 and the size of the cassette block 1. When the longerside (width) of the vacuum processing block 2 is designated as W1 andthe shorter side is designated as B₁, and the longer side (width) of thecassette block 1 is designated as W2 and the shorter side is designatedby B₂, the relations W1>B₁, W2>B₂ are satisfied. It is preferable forthe relation W₁−W2≈d to be satisfied, where d is the diameter of thesample.

When the gap between the cassette blocks of the vacuum processingapparatuses adjacent to each other is designated as G1 and the gapbetween the vacuum processing blocks adjacent to each other isdesignated as G2 (referring to FIG. 5), it is assumed that the relationG1<G2 is satisfied. The maintenance space between the vacuum processingapparatuses 100 adjacent to each other can be expressed by(W1+G1)−W2=MS. MS is a dimension required for maintenance work of anoperator. In this case, it is preferable for the relation (W1+G1)−W2≈dto be satisfied. Although the maintenance space 203 is an entrance forthe operator, there are some cases where the space is not provideddepending on the layout of the bay area 200. Even in such a case, aninstallation clearance G1 between the vacuum processing apparatusesadjacent to each other is required at a minimum, but the installationclearance practically becomes a value near zero. In this case, W1−W2=MSbecomes the maintenance space.

The side face of the vacuum processing block 2 of the vacuum processingapparatus 100 in accordance with the present invention is of the openingtype door structure. That is, two pairs of hinged doors 214, 216 areprovided in the side face and the back face of the vacuum processingblock 2. In order to perform maintenance, it is required that (1) thereare spaces from which an operator can check the devices and the pipesfrom back and front sides, (2) there are spaces to which the variouskinds of devices and pipes, for example, the main chamber can be drawn,and (3) there are spaces in which the doors can be opened. Therefore,the maintenance space MS is preferably 90 to 120 cm.

According to the vacuum processing apparatus 100 in accordance with thepresent invention, an operator can easily access to the side face andthe back face of the vacuum processing block 2. Further, by opening thedoors 214, the load lock chamber 5, the post treating chamber 7, thevacuum transfer robot 10 and the various kinds of pipes and devices canbe inspected and repaired. Furthermore, by opening the doors 216, theprocessing chamber 6 and the vacuum pump and the various kinds of pipesand devices can be inspected and repaired.

Since there is the maintenance space MS between the vacuum processingblocks 2, there is no obstacle to the operator opening the doors 214 inthe side to perform maintenance work. Further, there is provided enoughspace in the back face side of the vacuum processing block 2 to open thedoors 216 and perform maintenance work.

The plan shape of the vacuum processing apparatus 100 is L-shaped, asdescribed before. On the other hand, in the conventional vacuumprocessing apparatus 800, the vacuum processing block and the cassetteblock are generally constructed together to form a rectangular shape onthe whole, as shown in FIG. 9. The rectangular shape is selected basedon the shape of various kinds of elements installed in the vacuumprocessing apparatus and the mutual operational relationship among thevarious kinds of elements. In the general conventional vacuum processingapparatus, when the gap between the cassette blocks adjacent to eachother is designated as G1 and the gap between the vacuum processingblocks adjacent to each other is designated as by G2, there is therelation G1≧G2.

Since the conventional vacuum processing apparatus 800 deals withsamples having a diameter d not larger than 8 inches, such aconstruction described above can be used. However, in an apparatusdealing with a sample having a diameter d as large as 12 inches, theouter dimension of the cassette 12 becomes larger and consequently thewidth W1 of the cassette block containing a plurality of the cassettes12 becomes larger. Since the width (W2≈W1) of the vacuum processingblock is determined corresponding to the width W1, the whole of thevacuum processing apparatus 800 requires a larger space. Further, as thewidths W1, W2 of the cassette block and the vacuum processing blockbecome larger, the doors 214, 216 must be made larger and a largemaintenance space is required in order to provide a space for the doors214, 216 to be opened. For example, if a 12-inch sample is dealt with inthe conventional apparatus, W1=W2=150 cm, G1=G2=90 cm and themaintenance space between the vacuum processing apparatuses 100 adjacentto each other becomes MS=90 cm. This results in an increase in theeffective occupying area of the vacuum processing apparatus 800 in eachof the bay areas. This is not preferable.

An example of the mutual relationship of the various kinds of elementsin the vacuum processing apparatus in accordance with the presentinvention will be described, referring to FIG. 10. As shown in thefigure, the rotational center 01 of the arm of the vacuum transfer robot10 is arranged on the right hand side or the left hand side of the lineL-L connecting the middle position of the load lock chamber 4 and theunload lock chamber 5 and the center of the processing chamber 6, thatis, the rotational center 01 is shifted toward the side of the vacuumprocessing portion. The post treating chamber 7 is arranged on theopposite side of the line L-L. Therefore, the rotating range of the armof the vacuum transfer robot is narrow, and the whole plan shape of thevacuum processing apparatus 100 can be made L-shaped by arranging thevacuum transfer robot 10 near the side of the vacuum processing portion.By such a construction, the rotation range of the arm of the vacuumtransfer robot 10 becomes nearly one-half of one round circle. Bylimiting the rotating range of the arm of the vacuum robot 10 fortransfer of a wafer to within nearly a semi-circle, one sample 3 can betransferred to the load lock chamber 4, the unload lock chamber 5, theprocessing chamber 6 and the post treating chamber 7 with nearly asemi-circular movement of the arm. As described above, since therotating range of the arm of the vacuum transfer robot is designed to bewithin nearly a semi-circle, the width W2 of the vacuum processing block2 can be made narrow.

As described above, the vacuum processing apparatus 100 in accordancewith the present invention makes available the aforementionedmaintenance space by making the width W2 of the vacuum processing block2 as small as possible by taking into consideration the shape of thevarious kinds of elements arranged in the vacuum processing apparatusand the mutual relationship of the various elements, while providing thewidth W1 of the cassette block 1 to cope with a large diameter sample.By doing so, the effective occupied area of the vacuum processingapparatus 100 can be increased.

Since there is the maintenance space MS between the vacuum processingblocks 2, there is no obstacle to the operator opening the doors 214 inthe side to perform maintenance work. Further, there is provided enoughspace in the back side of the vacuum processing block 2 to open thedoors 216 and perform maintenance work.

In the vacuum processing apparatus 100 in accordance with the presentinvention, the positional relationship between the vacuum processingblock 2 and the cassette block 1 can be changed along the lateraldirection of the cassette block. For example, as shown in FIG. 11 andFIG. 12, the vacuum processing block 2 and the cassette block 1 arearranged so that the center line of the vacuum processing block 2 passesthrough the center of the cassette block 1 in the lateral direction, inother words, the vacuum processing block 2 and the cassette block I maybe arranged so as to form a T-shape as seen in a top plan view. In theT-shape arrangement, since there is a maintenance space MS between thevacuum processing blocks 2, there is no obstacle to the operator openingthe doors 214 in the side to perform maintenance work.

The plan view shape of the cassette block 1 and the vacuum processingblock 2 in accordance with the present invention need be not strictlyrectangular, that is, it may be nearly rectangular so long as therelation (W1+G1)−W2=MS can be practically maintained. The structuralelements contained in the cassette block 1 and the vacuum processingblock 2 and the arrangement of the structural elements may be differentfrom those in the aforementioned embodiments. For example, in theembodiment shown in FIG. 13, the atmospheric transfer robot 9 of thecassette block 1 is placed between the load lock chamber 4 and theunload lock chamber 5 of the vacuum processing block. In this case, theplan view shape of the cassette block 1 is strictly a projecting shapeand the plan view shape of the vacuum processing block 2 is strictly arecessed shape, and the whole of the vacuum processing apparatus 100 isa combination of two blocks of nearly rectangular shape forming aT-shape. In this embodiment, the locus of the extensible arm 91 can beconstructed so as to trace the locus containing the cassette 12 and theload lock chamber 4 on the load side and the load lock chamber 5 on theunload side 5 without moving the atmospheric transfer robot 9 on therail by placing the atmospheric transfer robot 9 of the cassette block 1between the load lock chamber 4 and the unload lock chamber 5 of thevacuum processing block and movably arranging the cassette 12 on therail 94. In this embodiment, the aforementioned maintenance space MSbetween the vacuum processing blocks 2 can be provided.

FIG. 14 shows another embodiment of a vacuum processing apparatus 100 inaccordance with the present invention. The vacuum processing apparatushas a cassette mounting table 130 and a console box 132 for evaluatingand inspecting a sample in addition to a cassette block 1, anatmospheric transfer robot 9 and a sample cassette 12.

FIG. 15 shows a further embodiment of a vacuum processing apparatus 100in accordance with the present invention. The vacuum processingapparatus is a T-shaped vacuum processing apparatus having a cassetteblock 1, an atmospheric transfer robot 9 and a sample orientationadjuster 11.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing another embodiment of a bay area 200 inaccordance with the present invention. A pair of L-shaped vacuumprocessing apparatuses 100A, 100B are arranged opposite to each other toform a set, and a console table 130 with a console box 132 is placedbetween the sets. There is not the aforementioned gap G1, but(W1+W3)−W2=MS becomes the maintenance space when the width of theconsole box 130 is W3. Since there is no gap G1, an operator needs toenter the zone 201B in which the vacuum processing block 2 is locatedfrom the back of the bay area 200 through the maintenance path 210 inorder to perform maintenance on the vacuum processing block 2. If it isrequired to reduce the access time, a gap G1 may be provided between theconsole table 130 and the neighboring cassette block 1. In this case,(W1+W3+G1)−W2=MS becomes the maintenance space.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a bay area having another arrangement ofvacuum processing apparatuses in accordance with the present invention.In the vacuum processing apparatus 100 in this embodiment, cassettetables 16A for plural cassette blocks 1 are formed in a continuousone-piece structure, and a plurality of atmospheric transfer robots 9run on a common rail 95 on the continuous cassette table. An in-bayautomatic transfer machine is placed between the bar stoker and theatmospheric transfer robot 9 to transfer a sample between the vacuumprocessing blocks 2. In this case, a cassette block 1 functionallycorresponds to each of the vacuum processing blocks 2 in one by onerelationship, and it can be thought that a plurality of nearlyrectangular blocks corresponding to the respective vacuum processingblocks 2 are connected together.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the construction of an embodiment of amanufacturing line in accordance with the present invention. It can beunderstood from FIG. 18 that the vacuum processing apparatus 100 inaccordance with the present invention is L-shaped or T-shaped in planview shape and a sufficient maintenance space MS can be maintainedbetween the vacuum processing blocks 2 even if a gap is provided betweenthe vacuum processing apparatuses 100.

On the other hand, if a sufficient maintenance space is provided in theconventional rectangular vacuum processing apparatus 800 as shown inFIG. 9 for purpose of comparison, the gap between the vacuum processingapparatuses must be increased. As result, the number of vacuumprocessing apparatuses which can be arranged in the same length of lineis only five for the conventional rectangular vacuum processingapparatus 800 in comparison to seven for the vacuum processing apparatus100 in accordance with the present invention as shown in the embodiment.A difference of two vacuum processing apparatuses is large when thewhole semiconductor manufacturing line is considered, and becomes alarge difference in arranging a necessary number of apparatuses in aclean room having a given space and in a saving footprint. As fortransferring of sample from a bay area having an automatic transfermachine to a bay area for the next process, when the vacuum processingapparatus in accordance with the present invention is employed, anamount of processing corresponding to seven vacuum processingapparatuses can be performed using one side of the one bay area.Whereas, when the conventional apparatus is employed, an amount ofprocessing corresponding to only five vacuum processing apparatuses canbe performed. This difference of two apparatuses results in a largeimprovement of the through-put in a semiconductor manufacturing line.

There are some cases where the rectangular vacuum processing apparatus800 is required to be partially used. Even in such a case, by arrangingthe L-shaped or T-shaped vacuum processing apparatus 100 in accordancewith the present invention adjacent to the rectangular vacuum processingapparatus 800, a proper maintenance space MS can be maintained betweenthe vacuum processing blocks.

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing the whole construction of anotherembodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing line in which the vacuumprocessing apparatuses in accordance with the present invention arepartially employed. This semiconductor manufacturing line has a lineautomatic transfer machine 204 and is of a line automated type wheretransferring of a sample between each of the bay areas 200A to 200N andthe line automatic transfer machine 204 is performed by an operator. Inthis system, the same effects as in the embodiment of FIG. 18 can beattained.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing the whole construction of a furtherembodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing line in which the vacuumprocessing apparatuses in accordance with the present invention arepartially employed. This semiconductor manufacturing line has in-bayautomatic transfer machines 202 and a line automatic transfer machine 4and is of a fully automated type where the transferring of a sampleinside each of the bay areas and between each of the bay areas 200A to200N and line automatic transfer machine 204 is performed without anoperator. In this case, by arranging the L-shaped or T-shaped vacuumprocessing apparatuses 100 adjacent to each other or by arranging theL-shaped or T-shaped vacuum processing apparatus 100 in accordance withthe present invention adjacent to a rectangular vacuum processingapparatus 800, a proper maintenance space MS can be maintained betweenthe vacuum processing blocks.

In the aforementioned embodiments, it has been described that thecassette and the atmospheric transfer robot are placed in an atmosphericenvironment and the atmospheric transfer robot is operated in anatmospheric environment. However, as shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, it ispossible for the cassette 12 to be placed in a vacuum environment andthe transfer robot 10 to be operated in only a vacuum environment. FIG.21 shows an embodiment where two cassettes 12 are employed, and FIG. 22shows an embodiment where three cassettes 12 are employed. In bothcases, the whole vacuum processing apparatus is of a T-shape.

In FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, the extraction of a sample in the cassette 12,the transferring of the extracted sample to the vacuum processing zone,the transferring of the sample from the vacuum processing zone and thestoring of the sample to the original position in the cassette areperformed under a vacuum environment using the vacuum transfer robot 10.In these cases, in regard to the vacuum processing system, there is noneed for the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber provided inthe aforementioned embodiments, in principle. Therefore, the number ofdata elements successively updated by the host computer is reduced bythe number of the data elements used for the load lock chamber and theunload lock chamber.

In this case, the state of samples contained in the cassette isperformed by a wafer check means under a vacuum environment. Further, inan apparatus having an orientation adjusting means for an unprocessedsample, the orientation adjustment is performed under a vacuumenvironment.

Furthermore, in an apparatus having an intermediate cassette between thecassette and the vacuum processing zone, there are provided a robot fortransferring the sample between the cassette and the intermediatecassette and a robot for transferring the sample between theintermediate cassette and the vacuum processing zone.

In such a vacuum processing system, since the intermediate cassette isadded, the number of data elements successively updated by the hostcomputer is increased by the number of the data elements used for theintermediate cassette and the robot.

Still further, in the aforementioned embodiments, the processed surfaceof a sample faces up and the sample is held horizontal in a state whenthe sample is contained in the cassette, in a state when the sample istransferred and in a state when the sample is vacuum-processed. However,another position of the sample is no problem.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possibleto provide a vacuum processing apparatus which is capable of coping withlarger diameter samples and is capable of suppressing an increase in themanufacturing cost, and at the same time has a better maintainability.

Further, it is possible to provide a semiconductor manufacturing linewhich is capable of coping with larger diameter samples and at the sametime is capable of suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost bymaintaining a necessary installation number of vacuum processingapparatuses and not decreasing the maintainability by employing thevacuum processing apparatuses in accordance with the present inventionin the semiconductor manufacturing line.

1. A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: a plurality of vacuumprocessing blocks and a cassette support means arranged at a front partof said plurality of vacuum processing blocks, wherein said cassettesupport means is capable of mounting a plurality of cassettes storingsamples to be processed, each cassette functionally associated with avacuum processing block, a first sample transfer robot for transferringa sample from a cassette on said cassette support means in anatmosphere, each of said plurality of vacuum processing blocks containsa load lock chamber, a vacuum processing chamber for processing samplesindependently and a second sample transfer robot for transferring asample between said vacuum processing chamber and said load lockchamber, said first sample transfer robot being a common transfer robotcapable of transferring a sample between its position in any one of theplurality of cassettes and the load lock chamber of any one of theplurality of vacuum processing blocks, wherein a sample from each ofsaid plurality of cassettes is capable of being independentlytransferred by said first sample transfer robot into the load lockchamber of the vacuum processing block functionally associated with thecassette, and processed samples from the load lock chamber of each ofsaid vacuum processing blocks are capable of being returned back totheir original positions of their original cassettes by said firstsample transfer robot.
 2. The vacuum processing apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising a controller for controlling said cassettesupport means for functionally associating each cassette of saidplurality of cassettes with a vacuum processing block, for controllingsaid first sample transfer robot for transferring samples from saidcassettes in an atmosphere, for controlling said second sample transferrobot for transferring samples from said plurality of cassettes intosaid plurality of vacuum processing blocks and returning processedsamples back to their original positions of their original cassettes. 3.The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein saidcontroller comprises a host computer.
 4. The vacuum processing apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein said cassette support means is provided inatmosphere.
 5. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2,wherein said cassette support means is provided in atmosphere.
 6. Thevacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cassettesupport means is provided in atmosphere.
 7. The vacuum processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first sample transfer robotcomprises an atmospheric transfer robot having an extensible arm.
 8. Thevacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saidatmospheric transfer robot is mounted on a rail provided on saidcassette support means arranged at the front part of said plurality ofvacuum processing blocks.
 9. A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: aplurality of vacuum processing blocks and a cassette support meansarranged at a front part of said plurality of vacuum processing blocks,wherein said cassette support means is capable of mounting a pluralityof cassettes functionally associated with each of said plurality ofvacuum processing blocks one by one, a first sample transfer robot fortransferring a sample from a cassette on said cassette support means inan atmosphere, each of said plurality of vacuum processing blockscontains a load lock chamber, a vacuum processing chamber for processingsamples independently and a second sample transfer robot fortransferring a sample between said vacuum processing chamber and saidload lock chamber, said first sample transfer robot being a commontransfer robot capable of transferring a sample between its position inany one of the plurality of cassettes and the load lock chamber of anyone of the plurality of vacuum processing blocks, wherein a sample fromeach of said plurality of cassettes is capable of being independentlytransferred by said first sample transfer robot into the vacuumprocessing block functionally associated with the cassette, andprocessed samples from the load lock chamber of each of the vacuumprocessing blocks are capable of being returned back to their originalposition of their original cassette one by one by said first sampletransfer robot.
 10. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim9, further comprising a controller for controlling said cassette supportmeans for functionally associating each cassettes of said plurality ofcassette with a vacuum processing block, for controlling said firstsample transfer robot for transferring a sample from said cassettes inan atmosphere, for controlling said second sample transfer means fortransferring a sample from said plurality of cassettes into the vacuumprocessing block functionally associated with the cassette and returningprocessed a sample back to its original position of its originalcassette.
 11. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 10,wherein said controller comprises a host computer.
 12. The vacuumprocessing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said cassettesupport means is provided in atmosphere.
 13. The vacuum processingapparatus according to claim 10, wherein said cassette support means isprovided in atmosphere.
 14. The vacuum processing apparatus according toclaim 9, wherein said cassette support means is provided in atmosphere.